Fred took a swallow of coffee and savored it before speaking. "You said you didn't want to fight anymore. You just wanted to enjoy life. That you sacrificed everything you had to save us..." The man stared at him, a singular look of compassion shadowing his eyes. "I guess maybe you did at that," he half whispered.

"I did?" Daniel echoed. Machello had said he lost it all, his wife, his friends, his planet. Here, somewhere on the streets of this alien world, he had found this man to whom he could relate those losses. "I did." He admitted on a whisper, realizing perhaps he and Machello did have something more than their body in common. They had loss.

Loss so great it defied description. Machello had told him in the infirmary had had lost everything in his fight with the Goa'uld. His wife had been turned against him, his friends had died, his world had been destroyed.

It suddenly hit the scientist. He was Machello. If Daniel continued on as he was he was headed down the same road the old man had taken. Machello's wife had been a host and betrayed him. Was not Sha'uri a host even now? Would she ever deceive him as Machello's wife had betrayed him? Had Daniel not watched Earth in the alternate reality destroyed, his friends there die trying to protect him? Would the same thing happen to the people he loved on this Earth?

Like Machello, would he spend his entire life battling the Goa'uld only to end up abandoned, tortured and alone? Daniel closed his eyes. Was that his own future he saw mocking him in those cold distant blue eyes? If he suffered as much, would he not be as unemotional, detached and embittered as Machello? Would he not use any means to regain a life? A life he had used up trying to defeat an enemy which could not be defeated.

Yes I am Daniel Jackson of the planet Earth. Had the old man seen himself in Daniel?

"Machello?"

Daniel opened his eyes and focused on Fred's worried gaze, giving him a gentle smile. "I'm okay," he admitted. He had hated Machello for what the man had done to him but as understanding dawned, shame burned through Daniel. Even with what the old man had done to him, Daniel could no longer condemn his actions.

Fred continued to stare at him, studying him. "You seem....different Machello."

Daniel's blue eyes widened. "I do? How?'

Fred frowned. "Older...not so...childlike as before. Worried maybe. I guess that's from the stuff they give you at the hospital, huh? I've seen it before...It's sad."

"What?"

"Why do they take away dreams when that's all a man has? It kills that sense of wonder you have with the world. What's wrong with being a kid and enjoying everything? What's wrong with being...'strange'?"

"I honestly don't know Fred," Daniel answered as he realized the simple veteran had hit on a major truth. He really hadn't an answer for the man. Hadn't he slowed down lived that simple life on Abydos, only to be thrown back into this world? Had he begun to lose that rose colored view he once had? Some might call it growing up, but now, through Fred's eyes, he saw it for what it truly was....a loss of innocence. The Goa'uld had changed him, hardened him, just as they had Machello.

I am Daniel Jackson of the planet Earth, Machello's slightly mocking echo rang in his ears. I am...

"Machello?" Daniel jumped at the name. "I gotta be goin." Fred pushed to his feet. "Thanks for the coffee. You take care huh?"

Daniel nodded and gently laid his hand on the old man's shoulder. "You too, my friend."

"I'll see ya around." Fred called over his shoulder as he shuffled downthe sidewalk and was lost in the afternoon crowd.

Daniel watched him go, then with determination in his blue eyes, he headed up the street to his Explorer. There was something he realized he had to do for the peculiar little man who had been a part of him for a day.

The sun was setting, the blue sky a glorious riot of pinks and golds. Daniel couldn't recall ever seeing a more beautiful sunset. A slight breeze rustled the leaves on the nearby Aspen trees and a lonely bird trilled the coming night. He sat alone, staring out at the snow capped mountains beyond, seeing them as a thing of beauty, something to be enjoyed. He looked down at the item he held in his hands.

After talking with Fred, Daniel had returned to the base, spoken with Hammond and then hiked here to the top of Cheyenne Mountain.

For some reason, he felt compelled to do this one last thing. With a soft sad smile, he lifted the lid and let Machello's ashes drift away on the gentle breeze.